Left MPs protest against CBSE exam fee hike

Two Rajya Sabha MPs from the Left demanded the withdrawal of "arbitrary" and "unjustifiable" increase of Class 10 and Class 12 examination fees by the CBSE, on Tuesday

In a letter to HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', CPM Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Elamarom Kareem said that the decision to increase exam fees is "very unfortunate, casteist and anti-poor and should be reviewed and withdrawn."

The CBSE has increased the exam fees for Class 10 and 12 students, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500.

Kareem said that the students appearing for Class 10 board exams are registered for it when in Class 9 and those appearing for Class 12 do it when in Class 11.

"The Board notified these changes in the fees last week and has asked the schools who had already begun the registration process and charged students as per the old fee structure, to now collect the difference in amount. The student, who fails to deposit the difference in CBSE examination fee before the last date will not be registered and will not be allowed to appear in the 2019-20 exam. This is a very unfortunate decision from the CBSE," he said.

In a separate statement, CPI Parliamentary group leader Binoy Viswam said the move exposed the "retrograde approach" towards students enrolled in the CBSE stream.